The Year of the Food Film: 10 Gastronomic Flicks to Look Out for This Summer

Food has been heralded as the new rock, mashed up with conceptual art, and incorporated into the color-packed panels of comic books. So why can’t food be the new blockbuster?

While film history is packed with food moments (they were even the theme of this year’s James Beard Awards), they’re usually set pieces in a broader narrative, with a truly food-forward movie (Ratatouille, Sideways) making its way into the spotlight only rarely. But this summer, a few big-name Hollywood types are taking this summer seem to be betting big on the viability of foodie culture on the big screen—including Bradley Cooper and Jon Favreau, who awkwardly both have projects called Chef in the works right now.

Meanwhile, some intriguing foreign food films—one drawing inspiration from Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli—are making waves, and there’s a whole slew of gastronomically inclined documentaries—about wine, organic food, craft beer, and even cocktails—on the horizon. All in all, 2013 is shaping up to be a breakout year for the food flick—here are the 10 releases we’re most intrigued to check out.

Food has been heralded as the new rock, mashed up with conceptual art, and incorporated into the color-packed panels of comic books. So why can't food be the new blockbuster?
While film history is packed with food moments (they were even the theme of this year's James Beard Awards), they're usually set pieces in a broader narrative, with a truly food-forward movie (Ratatouille, Sideways) making its way into the spotlight only rarely. But this summer, a few big-name Hollywood types are taking this summer seem to be betting big on the viability of foodie culture on the big screen—including Bradley Cooper and Jon Favreau, who awkwardly both have projects called Chef in the works right now.
Meanwhile, some intriguing foreign food films—one drawing inspiration from Ferran Adrià's El Bulli—are making waves, and there's a whole slew of gastronomically inclined documentaries—about wine, organic food, craft beer, and even cocktails—on the horizon. All in all, 2013 is shaping up to be a breakout year for the food flick—here are the 10 releases we're most intrigued to check out.

Somm

Release date: June 21st, in theaters and on iTunes
Pedigree: Directed by Jason Wise
What it's about: The documentary follows four men, including Dustin Wilson of Eleven Madison Park, as they train for and eventually take the Master Sommelier Exam. The test itself is an intense, multi-step process—only 200 candidates have ever reached the Master level since its inception 40 years ago. Filmed over three and a half years, the film gives unprecedented access to the the highly competitive wine game and notoriously secretive Court of Master Sommeliers.
Sounds like: A fun movie to watch while drinking two-buck chuck in your underpants

Tasting Menu

Release date: June 14th, 2013 (Spain)
The team: Directed by Roger Gual, starring Claudia Bassols
What it's about: This Spanish romantic comedy follows a couple who book a table for the final seating at a restaurant modeled after El Bulli. Of course, by the time the reservation rolls around, the couple has already been separated for a year. The suspense of the film hangs on whether or not the couple will rekindle their love over spherified olive oil while dining at "the best restaurant in the world."Sounds like: Hell Date meets Top Chef

Beer Hunter: The Movie

Release date: March 27th, 2013 (now available for public screenings)
The team: J.R Richards, Michael Jackson
What it's about: The film, which was fully financed by fans via Kickstarrter, follows legendary beer writer Michael Jackson as he travels the world seeking out interesting brews, all while secretly battling Parkinson's Disease. Jackson's 1993 television series, The Beer Hunter, helped propel the craft-beer revolution and was influential in inspiring many of this country's early microbreweries. Filmmaker J.R Richards turned three years of incredible footage he shot while traveling with Jackson into a commemorative documentary about the intrepid beer hunter.
Sounds like: Shackleton for beer nerds

Haute Cuisine

Release date: September 19, 2012 (France); screened at this year's Tribeca Film Festival
The team: Christian Vincent
What it's about: Based on a true story, this film is about a lady who is beckoned from her restaurant in the countryside to become the personal chef for the former French President François Mitterrand in Paris. It's a cute, charming, and very French story that follows the main character's trials and tribulations of sticking it to a snobby all-male kitchen, and plating up plenty of foie gras in the process. The Élysée Palace makes for a pretty cool backdrop for the endless stream of very delicious looking plates of French food, clearly the most important part of this film.
Sounds like: Erin Brockovich meets Julia Child

Hey Bartender

Release date: June 7th (NYC)
The team: Directed by Doug Tirola
What it's about: Filmed over three years, this documentary chronicles bartender culture around nation. There are interviews with craft-cocktail pioneers such as Jim Meehan of PDT and Julie Reiner of Clover Club, as well as old-school practitioners like the legendary Nicky Vests of Rao's. The movie takes those usually found behind the bar and puts them in front of the camera, offering a rare look into the minds of the people driving the revival of cocktail culture in the U.S. And don't think these folks don't know how to party—you'll see how the bar industry lets loose, from raucous competitions to off-shift benders.
Sounds like: The best boozehound flick since Cocktail

Drinking Buddies

Release date: July 25, 2013
The team: Directed by Joe Swanberg; starring Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, Jake Johnson
What it's about: This film is the classic love story of man and woman who are perfect for each other, but they're both in relationships with other people. The twist is that this time, the man and woman happen to work at a craft brewery in Chicago, so a lot of beer drinking is involved helping to literally blur the line between work friendship and a budding relationship. Much of the film was actually shot on location at various breweries, which should make for some good beer-nerd fodder.
Sounds like: A great date night—rom-com + beer!

In Organic We Trust

Release date: January 22nd, 2013
The team: Directed by Kip Pastor; starring Marion Nestle, The Naked Cowboy
What it's about: Organic products gone from being a small local movement to a 30 billion dollar industry in a relatively short period of time. Filmmaker Kip Pastor sets out on a personal journey to answer two very common questions about organic food: What exactly is organic, and is it really better, or just a marketing scam? He interviews a wide range of authorities, from farmers to nutritionists, on the topic along the way.
Sounds like: Food Inc. for tree-huggers

Medieval Times: The Movie

Release date: TBA
The team: Produced by Broken Road and BenderSpink (of The Hangover franchise)
What it's about: Now that Hollywood has turned almost every kid's toy out there into a film, it's setting its sights on kitschy restaurants, naturally. How they plan on spinning a full-length feature film out of a restaurant where guests are treated to a four-course banquet while cheering on "actors" playing jousting, sword-fighting 11th century knights is anyone's guess. Buzzfeed put together a list of other chains that should be optioned for movies; fingers crossed that a "Dave & Buster's Excellent Adventure" isn't on the horizon.
Sounds like: Knights Tale meets Beerfest

Chef: Bradley Cooper Version

Release date: TBA
Team: Produced byWeinstein Company; starringBradley Cooper, Omar Sy
What it's about: This isn't Bradley Cooper's first time playing a chef (see: the failed show Kitchen Confidential). This time, however, he will play the comeback kid, starring as a chef who loses his Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris thanks to a nasty drug and alcohol issues. He then gets his shit together to gather his crew in London and open a spot that will get him back his stars. Bonus points for Bradley Cooper and European locales, but the plot line sounds a tad predictable. Apparently Gordon Ramsay is teaching Cooper "flash tricks like knife work so [he] looks like an experienced chef."
Sounds like: Every Hollywood redemption tale, only this time with more food porn

Chef: Robert Downey Jr. Version

Release date: TBA
The team: Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara
What it's about: See description of Bradley Cooper's film. Switch out Bradley Cooper for Robert Downey Jr., Paris for Los Angeles, and Michelin-starred restaurant for food truck. Also, throw Scarlett Johansson into the mix for some good ol' cliche love interest fun. There's been plenty of drama between the Cooper project and Downey project—it's hard to say which one sounds worse.
Sounds like: A more dramatic version of The Five-Year Engagement

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